*Laurel’s death had greater affects on more characters in the Arrowverse than any other death. It led to:

*Laurel’s death had greater affects on more characters in the Arrowverse than any other death. It led to:

**Damien Darhk being killed by Oliver out of revenge, as well as nearly being killed by Sara several times in the past in an attempt to prevent Laurel’s death as well as mocking Sara repeatedly about it.

**Damien Darhk being killed by Oliver out of revenge, as well as nearly being killed by Sara several times in the past in an attempt to prevent Laurel’s death as well as mocking Sara repeatedly about it.

−

**Oliver reaffirming his love for her at her funeral before revealing her identity to the public to avoid her image being tarnished by Evelyn Sharp, briefly returning to killing most of his enemies including Darhk believing had he killed him earlier he would’ve prevented Laurel’s death (which inadvertently led to him accidentally killing the innocent Billy Malone when he was set up by Adrian Chase), seeking redemption for her villainous Earth Two counterpart Black Siren (which was eventually achieved by Quentin) whom in turn was freed from incarceration by Adrian to torment Oliver, and him following through on Laurel’s dying wish to find a new Black Canary by eventually choosing Dinah Drake to take on the mantle, as well as a vertigo hallucination of Laurel briefly haunting him about the circumstances that led to her death.

+

**Oliver reaffirming his love for her at both her funeral and later in the [[Dominator]] reality, revealing her identity to the public at her funeral to avoid her image being tarnished by Evelyn Sharp, briefly returning to killing most of his enemies including Darhk believing had he killed him earlier he would’ve prevented Laurel’s death (which inadvertently led to him accidentally killing the innocent Billy Malone when he was set up by Adrian Chase), seeking redemption for her villainous Earth Two counterpart Black Siren (which was eventually achieved by Quentin) whom in turn was freed from incarceration by Adrian to torment Oliver, and him following through on Laurel’s dying wish to find a new Black Canary by eventually choosing Dinah Drake to take on the mantle, as well as a vertigo hallucination of Laurel briefly haunting him about the circumstances that led to her death.

**Thea retiring from vigilantism as she believed Laurel wouldn’t want her to cross the kind of lines she began to cross such as threatening the life of young [[Nora Darhk]].

**Thea retiring from vigilantism as she believed Laurel wouldn’t want her to cross the kind of lines she began to cross such as threatening the life of young [[Nora Darhk]].

**Diggle nearly killing [[Ruve Darhk]] and partially led to him killing his brother [[Andy Diggle]], which in turn led him to briefly allowing himself to stay in prison out of guilt.

**Diggle nearly killing [[Ruve Darhk]] and partially led to him killing his brother [[Andy Diggle]], which in turn led him to briefly allowing himself to stay in prison out of guilt.

Alter ego

Actor

Dinah Laurel Lance (1985[1] – April 6, 2016), known simply as Laurel Lance, was a citizen of Star City and one of its most beloved public servants.[2] Laurel was the oldest daughter of the late Quentin and Dinah Lance (after whom she was named), the older sister of Sara Lance, and the on/off girlfriend and longtime friend of Oliver Queen. The ex-girlfriend of Tommy Merlyn, she was a lawyer who held the position of assistant district attorney and was previously a former legal aid attorney. However, after the death of her sister she was inspired to take up vigilantism and received training from Ted Grant and later by her close friend and her sister's former lover, Nyssa al Ghul. She eventually joined Team Arrow and became known as the Black Canary, the second Canary of her beloved city.

Laurel was fatally stabbed by Damien Darhk during his prison escape and passed away surrounded by the team just moments before her father arrived.[3] Following her death, her actions as Black Canary were made public by Oliver Queen in order to preserve her reputation as a hero to Star City; her identity as Black Canary is left on her own tombstone.

Two years after her death, Laurel Lance of Earth Two, reveals herself to the public (pretending to be her late Earth One counterpart) in order to protect herself from Ricardo Diaz, as he states that her death was faked by H.I.V.E., and that she had been tortured by the organization for the last two years; as the public is now convinced that (Earth One) Laurel is alive.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Laurel was born in 1985 to Quentin and Dinah Lance, and she had a younger sister named Sara. When she was 7 years old she met and became friends with Oliver Queen, she also met and became friends with Tommy Merlyn at that time as well. When Laurel was 20 years old, at one of Tommy's parties, when her sister Sara snuck out of their house to spend alone time with Oliver, their father and the cops later arrived and Sara was grounded. Sara would later come to believe that it was Laurel who tipped off their father to sabotage her chances with Oliver as Laurel apparently knew about the crush that Sara had with him at the time, however, it remains unknown as to whether or not Laurel actually did this. One month after Tommy's party, Laurel and Oliver began dating and fell in love despite Oliver's reputation as a "frat boy" as her father liked to call him.

In 2007, when she was 22 years old, Laurel broached the topic of them getting a place of their own, citing that they had been together even longer than their friends Ray and Jean who were already moving in together. Oliver initially agreed, but later panicked, instead of telling Laurel that he was not ready to move in with her yet, he impulsively cheated on her by having a one-night stand with Samantha Clayton. Oliver then invited sister, Sara, on the Queen's Gambit with him. Shortly after the Queen's Gambit went down, she found out from Oliver's mother, Moira, that Sara was on the Gambit when it went down and, and she realized that Oliver was cheating on her with her sister.

Devastated and angered by her Oliver and Sara's betrayal, Laurel found herself unable to mourn for her sister because of her mutual anger and grief ultimately becoming emotionally numb to it. Following her sister's death over the next 5 years, her parents divorced and her father became an alcoholic with Laurel bailing him out the last 5 years. Laurel also went law school, eventually graduating with offer to work at a prestigious law firms in the country in San Francisco. Laurel eventually turned down that offer to work City Necessary Resources Initiative, CNRI for short. Laurel also became involved in a causal relationship with Tommy over the last 5 years, never becoming serious with him despite Tommy's desire too.

Oliver Queen returns from the dead

As Laurel was working on a case against Adam Hunt with her best friend and coworker Joanna de la Vega, she learned on television that Oliver had survived the boating accident but also learned that Sara did not. Oliver later came to CNRI to apologize to her, but Laurel wasn't interested as she was still angry at him for his betrayal and blamed him for Sara's death. She later went to Oliver's welcome back party to apologize to him for being too harsh on him. Asking if her sister suffered and that she would be here for him if he needed to talk about what happened, Oliver lied and told Laurel that the island did not change him and that she should stay away from him otherwise he will just end up hurting her again. Laurel tells him that the island did change him as he is more honest now. Laurel would be informed that all the money that Adam Hunt stole was returned to his victims, she would later meet with Tommy to discuss that she and Oliver are over but that he is not the kind to be in a serious relationship with.[4]

Laurel helps a client whose father, an honest man, was murdered by Martin Somers. She ran into Oliver again at the courthouse where his death in absentia was being revoked, leading to another bitter moment between the two. Later, Oliver went to her apartment to apologize for pushing her away once again and to eat ice cream with her, mentioning that he missed it while he was on the island. They began to reconnect, but the house was attacked by the Chinese Triad at Martin's behest.[5]

Oliver got in trouble with Max Fuller while at his club and was dragged to a back room to be beaten up by his goons as payback for sleeping with his fiancée at their rehearsal dinner. Tommy tried unsuccessfully to protect him but it was Laurel who quickly took down Max and got him to let them go. Oliver found out that Laurel and Tommy had slept together while he was on the island and tried to talk to Laurel about it, but she told him they didn't need his forgiveness or his blessing and left the club. She later spoke with Tommy about what happened.[6]

When Peter Declan was wrongfully accused of murdering his wife, Laurel pointed out that he shouldn't die for someone else's crime. At first the information she found was not enough to free him so she went to the prison to talk to him. While at Iron Heights Prison, Laurel was attacked by the bodyguard of the man who actually killed Declan's wife, but The Hood saved her. Horrified by The Hood's violence, Laurel described him as a "monster" to her father.[7]

After Oliver was arrested by her father under suspicion of being the vigilante, Oliver asked Moira to go ask Laurel to defend him. Laurel reluctantly agreed hoping to get through her father but only ended up arguing with him about how Oliver is not to blame for Sara's death or the fact that her mother left them afterwards. During Oliver's polygraph, Quentin questions him about the scars on his body with Oliver revealing to him and Laurel that he was tortured and that he believes he killed Sara, saddening Laurel. Laurel later meets with Oliver in private at his party, where she reveals that her mother left him and her after Sara's death in hopes that Oliver will understand him. Oliver asks why she doesn't hate him, Laurel admits that she did for a long time but was so busy thinking about her family that she did not stop to consider what happen and now knows that happen on the island was more that he deserved. Admitting that she did not know about his scars and asking to see them, Oliver reluctantly showed them leading to an intimate moment between them in which they kissed. Laurel later appeared after Oliver was cleared of all charges, questioning his polygraph results. Oliver told Laurel that he did want to be seen as damaged, Laurel ultimately admitted that they were clearly still attracted to each other but made it clear that nothing could ever happen between them again.[8]

CNRI lost its biggest sponsor and Tommy suggested throwing a fundraiser for them. Laurel was initially suspicious of his motives, but considering that CNRI needed the money desperately, she went along with it. After seeing Tommy caring for the drunk Thea, Laurel indicated to Tommy that she might be interested in a relationship.[9]

Laurel agreed to go on a date with Tommy. When his father cut him off, she comforted him and told him it was not his money what she found attractive.[10] She encouraged Tommy to ask Oliver for a job and they argued over his insecurities, although they made up soon afterwards.[11]

Laurel went to the Queens' Christmas party with Tommy. After Adam Hunt was killed, Laurel realized that the Hood was only trying to protect her.[12]

After Joanna's brother, Danny de la Vega, died suspiciously in a fire, Laurel asked her father for help. He refused on the grounds that the death was not suspicious, but she stole his phone to contact The Hood. She asked for help investigating Danny's death and they worked together, discovering that Danny's murderer was a man otherwise believed to be dead, Garfield Lynns. Lynns attacked a fundraiser being held for the fire station and Laurel was briefly trapped inside with Oliver. Quentin told Laurel she should keep hold of The Hood's phone as she would find better use for it, although he was actually planning to use her to capture The Hood.[13]

When Thea got in legal trouble, Laurel asked her father to get her a deal by reminding him of the trouble that Sara got into in her youth. As part of her plea bargain, Thea had to work at CNRI with Laurel for some time.[15]

Laurel found out that the criminal Cyrus Vanch had been released from prison and asked The Hood for help finding evidence against him. When he had something to offer, he called her and she left a date with Tommy to meet him on a rooftop, not knowing her father was tracking her to capture The Hood. Laurel and Quentin had an argument because he was furious at her for contacting The Hood, while she was furious with him for setting her up and putting her in danger. Laurel was then kidnapped from her apartment by Vanch, who used her as bait to attract The Hood. After her father and The Hood rescued her, she told her father to stay away from her for his earlier actions. The Hood told her he saw how much danger he put her in and informed her he was going to stay away. Laurel's relationships with both Tommy and her father suffered as a result of her activities with The Hood.[16]

Laurel and Thea had a break from working at CNRI and walked through the Glades. Suddenly, Thea's purse was snatched by a man (Roy Harper) who managed to escape. Thea tracked Roy down and Laurel helped by passing on the information to her father so he could arrest Roy.[17]

Laurel helped Tommy celebrate his birthday and comforted him when his father turned up, encouraging Tommy to attend a ceremony in which he was going to receive an award. Afterwards, Laurel received a surprise visit from her mother, Dinah, telling her that she thought Sara might still be alive.[18]

Laurel invited her father to breakfast, not telling him that Dinah would also be attending. She encouraged her father to help Dinah investigate whether or not Sara survived the sinking of the Queen's Gambit in order to prove to Dinah that Sara was really dead.[19]

Laurel got caught up in the investigation but ultimately managed to prove that the photo Dinah has found was not actually Sara. Dinah's confession that she allowed Sara to go on the Gambit with Oliver was what allowed Laurel to reconcile with her. Laurel asked her mom to keep in touch when she went back to Central City. Meanwhile, Tommy distanced himself from Laurel even though she needed him.[20]

Laurel got furious when her father tried to prove Tommy and Oliver were selling Vertigo at Verdant.[21]

Laurel tried to help a family, but the couple was murdered by an assassin. She took in their orphaned son, Tyler, making herself a target when the assassin went to tie up loose ends. She, Tommy and Tyler temporarily stayed at the Queen Mansion, where she briefly discussed about the past with Moira. Later, Oliver comforted Laurel, which Tommy saw and misconstrued though he did not say anything at the time. The assassin was killed by Oliver and Laurel and Tommy were safe to go home, while Tyler's grandparents had been reached and could take care of him. Soon afterwards, Tommy left Laurel, lying and telling her that he was not ready for a relationship.[22]

Laurel confronted Tommy over him leaving her, saying that she still loved him and believed he loved her too, so they could work to overcome whatever was the problem. He told her that Oliver was still in love with her and she should be with him instead. When Laurel went to Oliver and asked him to tell Tommy that he no longer loved her, he refused, saying that he had too many lies in his life and that he was still in love with her.[23] A week later, Laurel went to Verdant to talk to Oliver about how maybe they still belong together and that she ready to admit that she still had feelings for him; however, Oliver lied and told her that nothing between them had changed. Laurel later visited her father, where she revealed that the reason Tommy broke up with her was because of Oliver in which Quentin surprisingly states that he has been different since he came back. Oliver later went to Laurel's apartment, telling her that he might finally be ready to be with her telling her that she knows him better than anyone and that she is more important to him than anyone. Hoping that he did not wait too long, Laurel kisses him telling that he didn't as they began having sex. Laurel was unaware that Oliver had previously encouraged Tommy to reconcile with her and he had been on his way to do just that as witnessed the two of them kissing.[24]

Laurel visited Oliver at the Queen Mansion because he left while she was sleeping. Worried he was getting scared again, Oliver assured her that wasn't the case and told her that she has always seen the best in him and that the island brought out the person that she always saw; leading them to passionately kiss. He also told her to stay out of the Glades that night, but when Moira confessed in a press conference about the Undertaking, Laurel went to CNRI to try and save valuable files for her clients' livelihoods. While she was there, her father called her and told her to get out. She left during the earthquake but got trapped under falling rubble when the building collapsed. Tommy arrived to save her life but was tragically killed in the attempt while her father prevented her from trying to get back to him.[25]

Recovering from Tommy's death

A year after the earthquake and CNRI's destruction, Laurel became an Assistant District attorney. She was present at a mayor's event that was interrupted by The Hoods, who threatened the District attorney, though Laurel managed to take him down. Immediately after, one of them pointed a gun at her before she could do anything else. Her father, demoted to officer rank, tried to ask her questions about the attack but his boss intervened. Oliver arrived and they talked about how she regretted sleeping with him, feeling that she cheated on Tommy. Later, Laurel met Oliver again at Tommy's grave. They agreed on being friends and she told Oliver how she was going to help the District attorney take down The Hood, still unaware that The Hood and Oliver were one and the same.[26]

Laurel made plans to catch The Hood, determined to bring him to justice for his crimes. When he went to talk to her, she revealed that she was also angry because it looked like he had the opportunity to save Tommy life, but did not. He later went to talk to her again she revealed that she had set a trap for him.[27]

The Canary rescued The Arrow from Laurel and the police. When Quentin angered the serial killer he was hunting down, the Dollmaker, the man targeted Laurel, kidnapping her and attempting to kill her while Quentin watched. The Arrow arrived just in time to save Laurel's life and The Canary killed the Dollmaker. Laurel realized her misplaced guilt was aimed at the wrong person and that she really blamed herself.[28]

Laurel was having a hard time from recent events, and began drinking heavily and taking anti-depressants, almost getting arrested for a DUI. Both Oliver and Quentin attempted to get through to her but failed. The Canary, revealed to be Laurel's younger sister Sara, was shown to be watching over Laurel.[29]

Laurel was put on Moira's prosecution and was able to convince the DA to offer Moira a plea bargain - life in prison as opposed to the Death Penalty (in case she was declared guilty). Oliver took her out for dinner in order to protect her from the Assassins pursuing her sister Sara. Afterwards, she made a pass at Oliver, who gently refused her and made it clear that he just wanted to be there for her as a friend, not reignite their romance. Tearfully, she then asked him why everyone in her life seemed to end up running away from her. Laurel noticed that her apartment was open and when Oliver investigated he found a knife, which he hid from her. After Oliver left, Laurel took some anti-depressants.[30]

Laurel was appointed lead prosecutor in the Moira Queen case to replace ADA Donner, who had been poisoned with Vertigo. While reviewing the case notes, she discovered Donner's "trump card" (that Moira had an affair with Malcolm). Disturbed by what she found, she tried to convince Moira to protect her family by not taking the witness stand, warning that she was obligated to prosecute the case to the best of her ability and would be forced to present Donner's evidence in court if Moira testified. However, Moira still decided to testify and Laurel had to reveal the affair, making a strong case for a guilty verdict. When she encountered Oliver immediately after mercilessly cross-examining Moira, she tried to avoid him, distraught and guilt-ridden at her actions in court.[31]

Sin and Thea sought help from Laurel about Max Stanton. Laurel discovered that the Blood drive Max donated blood in required a psych test, which was unusual but not illegal, meaning that she could not help Sin further.[32]

Laurel began investigating Sebastian Blood, whom she found suspicious. She questioned him about his past and his connection to Cyrus Gold, asking her father to help her get more information on Sebastian. In the course of her investigation, she discovered the name of Maya Resik, Sebastian's aunt who was confined in a psychiatric institution. She visited Maya, who revealed that she was not Sebastian's aunt, but actually his mother. Maya told Laurel that Sebastian murdered his father and had her committed to hide his crime.[33]

Laurel later got a call from St. Walker's Hospital learning Maya Resik passed away and suspected that she was murdered by Sebastian to prevent her from telling anyone else that he murdered his father. She asked Donner to help investigate the case but Donner refused, not believing Maya was murdered due to her being sick and the lack of evidence about Sebastian murdering his father (Donner did not believe Maya's words because he thought she was insane). Laurel sought help from The Arrow, who helped her search for the files that would prove Sebastian's guilt. Though they were successful, the files had already been removed. Laurel arrived home discovered that her apartment had been ransacked and was arrested by Officer Daily. She tried to pin it on Sebastian but her father did not believe her as she was in possession of prescribed drugs stolen from him. Oliver helped Laurel clean up her apartment after she was released but was knocked unconscious by The Masked Man, who kidnapped Laurel. She woke up at the Starling Cannery with the Masked Man taunting her. Laurel screamed she knew he would pay but the Masked Man grabbed her and told her she knew nothing. The Arrow showed up and engaged the Masked Man in combat. After overpowering The Arrow the Masked Man drew a gun and was about to shoot him, however Laurel picked up a gun and shot and killed him before he could do so. However, when The Arrow removed the man's mask it turned out to be Daily. Laurel was fired by Donner for her drug use and for seemingly being wrong about Sebastian.[34]

Laurel grudgingly agreed to have dinner with her father at his request. When this turned out to be a ruse to get her to attend a drug rehab meeting, she angrily left. She met with Joanna for a job offer, only to learn that disbarment proceedings were being filed against her, making her unemployable. Laurel showed up at Verdant, got drunk and made a scene. Oliver took her keys and got her a cab. When she arrived at her apartment, she saw her sister Sara.[35]

Laurel did not overdose, but was poisoned by a member of the League of Assassins. She told Quentin that she saw Sara, although she was under the impression that it was a hallucination. Soon after, her mother was kidnapped and Quentin tried to comfort Laurel. Quentin revealed to her that Sara was alive but received a call regarding Dinah's location. Laurel followed her father and discovered that Sara really was alive. After the whole Lance family was reunited, Laurel told Sara that everything that ever happened to their family after she left with Oliver was her fault and asked her get out of the apartment out of anger.[36]

Laurel still wanted nothing to do with Sara, refusing to go to her homecoming party. Quentin persuaded Laurel to host a family dinner, hoping he could reconcile with his ex-wife Dinah. At the dinner, things quickly went downhill when Laurel realized that Oliver and Sara had rekindled their relationship. She exploded in rage, arguing with Oliver about her blaming everyone else for everything that had gone wrong in her life. Finally, a visibly hurt Oliver said he was done with her and walked away. This seemed to shake Laurel, who went to Verdant to apologize to Sara and later showed up at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting with her father.[37]

Laurel saw that Sara was clearly being pushed away by Oliver and tried to give Oliver advice on how to handle it.[38]

Donner offered Laurel her old job back, if she agreed to prosecute the case against Frank Bertinelli. When Helena Bertinelli took over the courthouse in an attempt to kidnap Frank, Laurel was taken hostage and The Canary arrived to rescue her. In the stress of the situation, Laurel was about to drink again to but got dissuaded by The Canary. In an act of bravery, she insisted on staying until all the hostages were freed and helped The Canary battle Helena's thugs. However, Laurel got recaptured after the masked vigilante was defeated by Helena. Laurel tried to persuade Helena to let the hostages go by explaining that they had a great deal in common, but the Huntress responded by slipping out of the courthouse and taking Laurel along with her. Later, when The Canary defeated Helena in battle, Laurel convinced her sister not to kill Helena.

Afterwards, DA Spencer apologized to Laurel for Donner's having used her in his scheme to lure the Huntress out of hiding, but said that Donner had no authority to reinstate Laurel. Laurel then blackmailed Spencer into rehiring her by threatening to reveal Donner's scheme to the public if she was not given her old job back. She quoted Helena, mentioning that someone recently told her that 'once you let the darkness inside, it never comes out'.[39]

Laurel visited Sebastian prior to his debate with Moira and apologized for suspecting him of murdering his father. Laurel was later visited by Slade Wilson, who revealed Oliver's identity as The Arrow.[40]

Laurel has a hard time dealing with Oliver's identity, mainly because revealing the Arrow's identity is the only thing that could release Quentin Lance from prison. After she sees Sara's wounds, Laurel is nearly heartbroken on learning her sister's true identity. Quentin is then attacked by a prison inmate and Laurel rushes to see him. Quentin then persuades her to keep the secret about Oliver Queen after telling her to think about the difficulties the vigilante has to face. Laurel, finally at peace with the vigilante's identity forces the D.A. to release Quentin and then visits Oliver and hugs him, saying that he is one of the few people she values in her life.[41]

After Moira Queen's death,[42] Laurel resumed her investigation of Sebastian Blood, confiding her suspicions to her father and asking him to help her. She managed to plant a bug in the mayor's office, allowing Kelton to hack his computer and search his files. They discovered proof of his involvement in Moira's death in the form of a press release offering his condolences to the Queen family, dated the day before Moira was killed. Given Oliver's disappearance, Laurel contacted Diggle and Felicity. She appeared all of a sudden at the Arrow's hideout and revealed to Oliver that Slade told her about his secret identity. She insisted that Oliver should continue fighting for the sake of his family and friends and not surrender to Slade, stating that she knew him better than anyone else and that he never gives up.

None of this seemed to sway him, but then she informed the team that Mayor Blood was working with Slade, and emphasized that this was no longer just a personal conflict between him and Slade, but involved all of Starling City, which finally galvanized him into action. When Team Arrow left to confront Slade's army, Laurel asked to join them, though Oliver refused as she would not be safe. Nonetheless, she ended up following them. When one of the Mirakuru-enhanced prisoners began choking the Arrow, she bashed the prisoner with a pipe, distracting him and allowing the Arrow to gain the upper hand. When she and the Arrow were cornered by Slade's soldiers, Oliver shot an explosive arrow towards the ceiling, causing a cave-in.[43]

Laurel got trapped by rubble from the cave-in, but managed to escape by following Oliver's instructions to shoot an explosive arrow with his bow. Oliver was reluctant to leave her, but she told him the city needed him more than she did. On her way to the police station to meet her father, she was attacked by one of Slade's soldiers, but the Canary appeared and rescued her. Laurel told Sara that she knew about her being the Canary and encouraged her dejected younger sister, who believed herself to be beyond redemption. She witnessed Sara rescue a child from a burning building, then both of them reunited with their father at the police station.[44]

Laurel was later abducted by Slade, who wished to avenge Shado's death by killing her, whom Slade believed to be the woman Oliver loved. However, Oliver managed to trick Slade and defeated him, saving Laurel. Sara gave her black jacket to Laurel afterwards.[45]

Return of the Church of Blood

Following his injury, Quentin was taken to the hospital and placed into a medically-induced coma, in which he stabilized. Laurel constantly stayed by his bed, so much so that a doctor insisted she take some time off from her father. Laurel decided to take the woman's advice, and went outside to call her sister.[46]

Sometime later, Laurel began questioning Hoshaw Tolibao after he held a woman hostage at gunpoint. He claimed to need no lawyer, as he was righteous and his god, Brother Blood, would protect him. Laurel, shocked at the information, relayed it back to the team, who came to the conclusion that someone else had to have taken up the name. Laurel watched over an unconscious Roy, commenting on how he resembled her father.[47] She later went to visit her father. While she was there Sara also visited, which caused Quentin to wake after weeks of being in a coma.[48] She encountered Caleb Green and was captured by him to draw Oliver Queen to his old home. Oliver arrived to rescue her and freed her. He and Caleb would battle, in which he told Laurel to leave, Laurel refused as she saved his life, Oliver told Laurel to run which she did. After the mansion had become rubble, she went through the rubble and discovered Oliver, the pair would find the body of Caleb who died soon after.

Following in her sister's footsteps

Sara's death

Captain Lance recognizes the Arrow as a hero, and disbands the task force.

Five months after her abduction by Deathstroke, Laurel was assigned to prosecute Vincent Steelgrave, after Steelgrave was apprehended and delivered to the police by the Arrow. Once Laurel presented the evidence gathered by the Arrow, Steelgrave accepted the plea for fifteen to twenty years. Laurel met Oliver Queen in front of Starling City Courthouse, as Steelgrave was being transported to prison, and told him about Steelgrave in a celebratory mood. When Oliver asked her why she had invited him there, Laurel led him to a speech her father was giving nearby. The two listened as Captain Lance announced that the Starling City Police Department had disbanded the task force charged with capturing the Arrow.[49]

Laurel's father was hospitalized that night after a failed attempt to capture Werner Zytle with the Arrow. Laurel visited her father at the hospital in the morning and berated him for still going out in the field despite his health problems. When asked why he kept pushing himself, Lance told Laurel that was the only life that he knew and stated he did not know what he was otherwise. Laurel answered by saying that he was her father, and she needed him.[49]

Laurel finding Sara's dead body.

That night, Laurel met Sara, who had just arrived in Starling City, at a rooftop. The two sisters warmly embraced each other, and Sara asked Laurel how their father was. When Laurel answered seeing Sara would help him, Sara asked her not to tell Captain Lance she was there. Laurel was called into backstop the interrogation of Zytle at the police station by his boss. As Laurel was leaving, Sara fell down from the rooftop, having been shot in the chest with three black arrows. Seeing her sister's death, Laurel hugged Sara's body as she cried.[49] Not knowing where else to take her body, Laurel took Sara to Arrow's headquarters. Oliver, along with Roy and Felicity, found her in the morning, covered in Sara's blood, still crying by the body.

When Oliver promised Laurel he would find Sara's killer, she told him that when she had thought Sara died aboard the Queen's Gambit, all she could do was scream with rage, but this time she was going to help catch the killer. Oliver objected she should take care of herself and her father, prompting Laurel to say telling her father about Sara's death before they caught the killer would kill Lance. Laurel left, saying a bar was the last place she should be then. When Diggle found a mercenary archer, Simon Lacroix also known as Komodo, by going through the A.R.G.U.S. database, the Arrow followed Komodo as the mercenary was trying to kill a man named Erlich Kelso. Laurel watched the fight between the Arrow and Komodo on street cameras from the Arrowcave with Felicity, and was furious when Komodo escaped.﻿[49]

Laurel went to the hospital Kelso was held under protective custody and lied her way through the police officers at his door. She harshly questioned Kelso and tortured him until Kelso told her they were working for a deal to build a pipeline for Amertek Industries. Before he could say more, Kelso was killed by Komodo who shot him with a single arrow through the heart from the building across. Captain Lance arrived at the hospital, worried about Laurel, and confronted her about the lie Laurel told his officers. When answered she needed to talk to him, Lance asked her to go home and let the police handle it. Despite seemingly agreeing, Laurel contacted Felicity to meet her at Verdant so she could tell Team Arrow about what she learned from Kelso.﻿[50]﻿

By following the money Amertek paid Kelso and his partners, Felicity discovered an Amertek board member named Tom Weston had authorized the payments. Theorizing Komodo was paid to stop the deal, they determined his next target would be Weston who was attending Ray Palmer's Star City Pledge event. When Laurel tried to go after Komodo, Oliver argued she would be killed if she went and told her he would catch Komodo this time. Unwilling to stay behind, Laurel took a gun and went after Komodo anyway. She caught up to them just as the Arrow subdued Komodo. Seeing her with the gun, the Arrow tried to talk her out of revenge. Komodo denied having killed Sara, but was unable to convince Laurel as she pulled the trigger only to discover the Arrow had taken the bullets out of the gun.﻿[50]

Laurel mourning Sara.

Back at Verdant, Oliver told Laurel Komodo's alibi of being in Blüdhaven had checked out. He told her it would take time to capture Sara's killer because the trail had run cold and urged Laurel to talk to her father about it. Following Oliver's advice, Laurel went to the precinct to talk to her father, but she was unable to tell her father when Lance's medication reminder's alarm went off. She sidestepped by apologizing for lying to her father the day before. At night, Laurel and Team Arrow put Sara to rest in her old grave from when she was presumed dead after the Queen's Gambit accident. Back at home, Laurel sat by herself with Sara's black leather jacket.[50]

Training with Wildcat

Next week, Laurel was assigned the case of a break-in allegedly perpetrated by Tom Bronson. She went to the Wildcat Gym to question Bronson's fighting teacher Ted Grant. When he was told that witnesses had placed Bronson at the scene the previous night, Grant claimed Bronson was with him at the time, causing Laurel to angrily accuse Grant of perjury. Despite admitting to nothing, Grant answered that some people in Starling City were dealt bad hands and that he was willing to lie to keep a good kid who made a mistake. Seeing Laurel's rage, Grant invited her to train in his gym in order to work off her rage.[51]

In her next AA meeting, Laurel confessed she was feeling rage over something she could not say and admitted she did not know what to do with it, before listening to a woman named Erica share being beaten by her boyfriend. After the meeting, Laurel told her father Erica was giving a similar share every month and that it had been getting worse. When asked if he knew the boyfriend had eight assault charges against him, Quentin answered that he knew but the police acting on the confessions would defeat the purpose of the anonymity of AA. Deciding to take justice into her own hands, Laurel followed Erica's boyfriend and assaulted him with a baseball bat while wearing a ski mask and her sister's jacket. Laurel managed to get a few hits at first, but was soon overwhelmed and beaten severely. She was taken to the hospital where she was visited by his worried father who pleaded her to promise never to do something like that again. Laurel promised and told him she had made a mistake.[51]

Laurel asking Oliver to train her to fight so she can get justice outside of a courtroom.

Breaking her promise, she went to Verdant to speak with Oliver Queen. Seeing Laurel's injuries, Oliver asked her what had happened. Laurel told him and asked him to train her so she could get justice outside of a courtroom. Oliver flatly refused, saying Sara would never forgive him for it. Having been denied by Oliver, she went back to Grant instead who accepted training her.[51] After she left the Wildcat Gym, Laurel went to the cemetery to visit her sister's grave where she encountered Nyssa al Ghul who had also come to pay respects. After praying in Arabic, Nyssa offered Laurel her condolences as well as her father's, causing Laurel to retort angrily she did not want their condolences. As Nyssa was leaving, Laurel stopped her by saying Sara would not have been killed with arrows in the chest if she had not met Nyssa. Nyssa answered she had found Sara alone and starving, and that she loved and protected her. Seeing Sara's jacket on Laurel, Nyssa told her she had given it to Sara and Laurel was not fit to wear it before leaving the cemetery.[52]

Next morning, Laurel was contacted by Oliver Queen and told before her death, Sara had asked her father for information about something named "Jansen." Heading to the precinct, Laurel questioned Captain Lance about what Sara had asked about. Her father explained that Sara had been in Starling, but asked him not to tell Laurel, and that he had given her the last known address of Ken Zhi Jansen. Seeing Nyssa walk into the precinct, Laurel went to confront her. Nyssa figured out Laurel had not told her father about Sara's death, and although believing he had the right to avenger his daughter, she did not reveal it to Quentin because Laurel asked her not to. Quentin gave Laurel Jansen's address, and she went to wait in the Arrow's headquarters as the Arrow, Arsenal, Nyssa, and John Diggle went to investigate the address.[52]

When they returned, Oliver explained to Laurel Malcolm Merlyn was alive, and Sara had been tasked to find him. Hearing that Oliver had tagged Merlyn with a tracer arrow when he had a clean shot at him, Laurel angrily asked him what he would do when he found him. She pressured Oliver into killing Merlyn, but Oliver adamantly refused, causing Laurel to storm out of the room. Outside, Nyssa caught up to her and promised that they would find Merlyn, and she would kill him.[52]

When Nyssa kidnapped Thea Queen to set a trap for Merlyn the next night, Oliver asked Laurel's help in tracking them down. Laurel did not find anything specific to Nyssa or Thea, but she discovered the smoke signal Nyssa was using to send Merlyn a message on city cameras. She went back to the foundry and gave the location to Oliver so he could rescue his sister. After the rescue, Oliver returned with Nyssa and told Laurel Merlyn had not killed Sara, as well as warning Nyssa to stay away from Merlyn as long as he was in Starling City. When Laurel asked Oliver if he was sure, he told her he would not let Merlyn leave otherwise. Nyssa visited Laurel while she was training at the gym, and told her she had proven to be worthy to wear Sara's jacket.[52]

When the cyber-terrorist group, Brother Eye, shutdown power in the Starling City, Laurel was called into the police department to act as the District attorney, because the DA was visiting at the Coast City. Protesters gathered in front of the Starling National Bank after the Brother Eye threatened to reset the balances of every accounts to zero in banks. Trying to make sure no one got hurt during the protest, Laurel pushed the boundaries of her authority and sent an emergency service unit to the bank, but the riot squad only served to exacerbate the situation. Before the protest turned violent, Arrow and Arsenal interfered and dispersed the crowd by using teargas on them. Captain Lance was furious when he learned Laurel had gone behind his back and escalated the situation. After he calmed down, he asked Laurel to talk about whatever was hurting her, but she refused to say anything about Sara's death. Captain Lance accepted her refusal, but urged Laurel to speak to someone else, saying secrets hurt. Laurel took her father's advice the next morning, and confided in Ted Grant about her sister's murder. Grant stated he now knew how to teach her and promised to help her deal with her anger.[53]

She kept training with Ted Grant who also started to use grappling against her during the boxing sparring. After the training they decided to have dinner together. When they returned a body was strung up in the gym and The Arrow confronted Ted. Laurel came in between and said Ted could not have done it as he was with her after closing the gym. She talked with her father who questioned her relationship with her trainer. She left the gym and walked straight past Carrie Cutter who observed the crime scene. Talking with Oliver she said Ted was innocent and had lots of (former) criminals in his gym who might want to send a message. Oliver questioned that she trained with him after he refused to learn her to fight, and told her she had to watch out with Ted.Laurel learned about the body in Ted his hideout and that he was a former Vigilante. She identified the victim as a former magician assistant. Ted told them that both are related to a hotel where a drug dealer got killed before he stopped being a vigilante. Oliver asked Laurel if Ted was aware why she was training and that she wanted to get in Sara her footsteps. Laurel said she can handle it and Oliver said she plays a dangerous game.

Laurel later learned that Oliver had Ted arrested after they found the real killer. Roy told Laurel he probably killed Sara while he was still suffering from the Mirakuru. Laurel asked why and he said he remembered doing it. Laurel was confused as Felicity said the DNA did not match with Roy. Oliver said she needed to focus on Ted right now.
Laurel talked with Ted who was in custody. He told her his former partner Isaac Stanzler who helped him during his days as a vigilante. The both of them chased criminals in a way to make the glades safer. He told her Isaac was the one who killed the drug dealer. He said he told Isaac to flee the city to avoid revenge from the drug dealer his gang.

Ted got released from prison and he and Laurel talked after which Isaac ambushed and captured them. He forced Laurel to drive them away in their car. He accused Ted of leaving him when he need them the most. As they talked Laurel called Team Arrow. Oliver and Roy gave chase and Laurel used the distraction to toss Isaac out of the car as he tried to shoot Roy. However the car crashed and Oliver and Diggle had to drag Laurel and Ted out of the burning vehicle.

In the hospital she and Oliver talked and he told her he did not want to train her in order to protect her and that he always would look out for her. He also told her Roy did not kill Sara as he remembered killing an officer with an arrow during his Mirakuru-induced rage. Laurel later talked with Ted and said that his training made her doing the right things. She said she wanted him to help her become a vigilante.[citation needed]

While Laurel was mourning at Sara's grave, Thea came up to Laurel and asked why she was there. Laurel told Thea that Sara had died and told her Quentin could not know about it because of his heart condition. At the Police station, her mother visited Laurel and Laurel confessed to her mother about Sara's death. Laurel and her mother visited Sara's grave where Laurel promised to avenge her death. Dinah encouraged this decision and said she would make the killer suffer.

Becoming Black Canary

Laurel prosecuted Jermaine Fisher, denying him bail for shooting a cop. She reported to Diggle, Roy and Felicity concerning a member of mob boss Brick's gang which she identifies as Hose Anton. She learns of Oliver leaving to fight Ra's al Ghul. Upon learning of Oliver's supposed death from Malcolm Merlyn, and not being able to convict Brick's thugs, Laurel picks up the mantle of Black Canary, dons a leather suit and her sister's mask, taking out two of Brick's thugs in a fight.[54]

She continued fighting crime rescuing a woman from being raped by one of Brickwell's men and helping Roy rescue the kidnapped Aldermen.[55] Laurel participated in the fight to reclaim the Glades from Brick, alongside Grant (Under the alias "Wildcat"), Roy and Diggle. She helped Grant after he got pummeled by Brick.[56]

Laurel continued to fight crime as Black Canary, despite Oliver's wishes. She was present during Count Vertigo's escape from custody, and stopped a Vertigo influenced guard from shooting more innocent people. Laurel tracked Vertigo down, but during the subsequent fight was injected with a lethal dose of the drug. It caused her to hallucinate her greatest fear - her sister Sara telling her she was a fraud, addict and unworthy or replacing her. She attempted to fight, but was defeated by Count Vertigo. Laurel started to suffer from an overdose, but Oliver arrived in time to take her back to Verdant for treatment.[57]

When Laurel recovered, Felicity asked her if she is fine. Laurel told her about her hallucinations, and she was crazy for thinking she could replace Sara. Felicity encouraged her by telling Laurel by telling her that Sara wore a mask to hid her demons just as much as she wanted to help people, unlike Laurel. Felicity added that Laurel had a light that Sara never had, and that she should stop trying to be her sister instead of herself.[57]

Black Canary joined Oliver on the second attempt to catch Zytle. During the fight, Count Vertigo set fire to the building they are in. While Arrow saved the civilians inside the building, Laurel went after Zytle. She was once again injected with Vertigo and started hallucinating another fight with Sara, as well as Quentin, who was furious about his ignorance of his daughter's death. However, despite everything Black Canary managed to overcome the effects of the drug and defeat Vertigo. She then visited Quentin, who confesses he knows she was Black Canary. Laurel told him about Sara's death and her reasons for keeping him in the dark. Quentin was shocked by the revelation, and Laurel comforted him.[57]

Laurel spotted her father giving flowers to her grave. Lance willing to tell Dinah that their daughter, but from Laurel, she was aware, and she didn't tell him either. She asked him to drink that, but he refused because he found out that his daughter is nothing but a vigilante. She tell him about choosing life to help people. Lance is disappointed that he broke his bond for what she done, that he refused to go to the meeting. He give her his drink, but when he left, Laurel dump her drink, as she won't drink it ever again.[58]

Laurel then learns from Thea, that Merlyn had drugged her and under his influence she killed Sara. Laurel doesn't hold Thea responsible for her sister's death and tells Thea that she doesn't need to follow Merlyn. Later, Laurel visits Oliver and she deliberately catches him in a lie about Sara's killer. They then argue over the fact that he kept it a secret from her. then it steers towards Merlyn as Oliver tries to make it clear that he needs Merlyn to protect his family. Laurel ignores it and she goes after Merlyn.During the confrontation, Merlyn easily overpowers Laurel, until Nyssa and the league showed up and successfully captured Merlyn. Nyssa then told Laurel that she could rest knowing that Sara's death has been avenged. Later when Oliver finds out that the league took Merlyn, he gets angry with Laurel and she defends her actions. Then when he plans to rescue Merlyn, Laurel is among the ones that disagree with the decision. After Oliver fails to rescue Merlyn and leaves for Nanda Parbat, Laurel has a conversation with Nyssa in which she reveals that having Merlyn to hate is a piece of Sara that she can hold onto and when he is gone so is another part Sara. Laurel then asks Nyssa if she remembers Sara's laugh and she says that the first time she heard Sara laugh was the moment she fell in love with her. Laurel thanked Nyssa for telling her this.

After Oliver and Dig returned from Nanda Parbat, everyone is surprised and confused when he releases Nyssa and tells her to go home. He then tells them all to get back to work. Laurel then visited Thea and the two talked about everything that's recently happened to her. Laurel later goes to talk to her father at the police station. He states that he'll always love her but he doesn't think he can ever forgive her for lying to him about Sara's death for so long. Suddenly Murmur and his team arrive and attack the station. The two of them hide behind his desk. When the precinct is under attack by Murmur's crew, he orders her to get out while he provides cover fire. As she runs, she finds Nyssa who has returned. Nyssa joins in the fight along with Team Arrow who also show up. Together, they all manage to capture Murmur and take down his crew. Laurel then leaves the station and finds Nyssa waiting for her outside in an alley. She asks her if she would like to talk about Sara which she agrees to as they go out for dinner. Nyssa then offers her training which she accepts.

She along with team arrow attended Diggle and Lyla's wedding. She alongside the rest of the team are then alerted by the media notice about the arrow being accused of committing multiple murders. She and everyone then go back to the base to come up with a plan to stakeout the possible targets that are bad guys who Ra's al Ghul and his gang appear to be going after. She then tries to defend and protect Oliver by blocking Ray Palmer who tries to bring his Queen/arrow information to the police at the station. She succeeds in this but it only makes Ray decide to take matters into his own hands. At the end of the episode she's in a meeting with Felicity, Palmer, Lance and the Mayor who gets hit with an arrow straight into her chest which kills her.

During the attack she took cover like everyone else. After the attack, There are news reports about the shocking attack and Laurel tries to convince her father to trust her that the Arrow is being framed. He wants her to tell him the Arrow's true identity but she refused by remaining silent. She and Team Arrow then head to the location of a building that the league has been using as a staging ground after Nyssa gives them the information. She had also told Oliver that Nyssa was still in town earlier. she and the team go there and do battle with a team led by Maseo. Ra's then shows up and tells the Arrow he has two choices: Replace him as Ra's or spend the rest of his life in prison. At this moment police helicopters arrive overhead. The Arrow team runs away and manages to escape with help from Diggle, who was positioned above with a sniper rifle. In the process Roy injures several cops and Nyssa helps Laurel when she's cornered by her father. Back at the Arrowcave speaks over the phone with an angry Lance who wants Arrow to turn himself in. Oliver apologizes to everyone for putting them all in this position. She then meets with Lance, who thinks her father is doing this because of Sara. Lance thinks the Arrow is the reason Sara was killed. He tells her if she hadn't been on the boat with Oliver she'd never have ended up in the League. she, Felicity and Roy show up and they discuss a plan. After Oliver hands himself into the police and he's placed in custody, Laurel gets them ten minutes with Oliver in an interrogation room. Oliver tells him he's pushing for a deal where they all get immunity if he goes to prison. They aren't willing to accept that scenario. He wants them to follow him "until it's over". Back at the Arrowcave, she and the team try to figure out their next move.

After Roy was arrested for being revealed to be The Arrow, Laurel returned to the SCPD and presented her father with a notice from the District attorney's office for Oliver's release, claiming that both he and Roy were going to be charged as the Arrow, questioning her father that was he going to go above the law and when Oliver asked her why she did it, she claimed it was because she wanted to avoid having both Oliver and Roy in prison.[59]

Laurel approached her father about witness statements for a case and she met Joe West and Cisco Ramon, she pulled Cisco aside and told him she knew that Barry was the Flash, and told him that she was the Black Canary only to see Cisco freak out and say he was a fan of hers. She asked him to come up with an upgrade to Sara's sonic device to which he agreed. Later on, Cisco showed her what he came up with, a choker with an amplified sonic scream and suggested she should call it the Canary Cry to which she agreed, and gave Cisco a folder claiming that if anyone found out, she'd kill him, which he thought was originally was a joke. Inside the folder was a picture of him and Laurel in costume.[60]

Laurel went after a criminal who managed to get the advantage over her, though with help from Nyssa, she was able to apprehended him, Laurel then took Nyssa to dinner even though she wanted to continue training, Nyssa then thanked Laurel for showing her how normal people live and how she had also gained a friend as well, Laurel then confessed that Oliver had accepted Ra's' offer to lead the league which enrages Nyssa who then storms out. she then went searching for Nyssa and found her and apologized for not telling her the truth sooner. Nyssa then informs her that Oliver will now hunt her down and kill her for her betrayal against the league. they then went to Palmer Technologies and informed Felicity and Diggle about the situation. she, John and Felicity then decided to help Nyssa after she left to face Oliver on her own. she along with Diggle then rescued her from Oliver who was about to kill her after a brief confrontation and fight with the help of Laurel's new Canary Cry. instead of fighting them, Oliver leaves the scene. Laurel finds Nyssa again at her safe house tending to her injuries and she states that they shouldn't have interfered. Laurel then stated that Oliver had changed but Nyssa can as well. she then defended her from Diggle who wanted to trade her for Lyla after she was captured by Oliver. she then tried to dissuade her from handing herself over to the league which John suggested she do. Laurel and the team arrived at an unknown location where the exchange will occur. The exchange is made but a massive battle breaks out after Lyla breaks out two guns and shoots some of the league's men. despite their best efforts, Nyssa is captured as they subdue and drag her away. she along with the team then witnessed Thea shoot Oliver in the arm with an arrow as he was about to kill Diggle with his sword. Back at Palmer Technologies, she and the team admitted that they have lost Oliver to Ra's al Ghul and that they must now reassemble all of their efforts without him.[61]

Sometime later Laurel and Diggle chased a criminal back to his gang. While they defeated the thugs, John, who was still angry over Oliver kidnapping Lyla, began to heavily beat up one of the thugs only for Felicity to calm him down. Back at John's apartment, the three discussed John's actions with Felicity claiming he couldn't take his anger out on other criminals. However, Laurel asked Felicity how she could be so judgmental after what Oliver did the previous week. Felicity rebutted, claiming that it was not the Oliver she knew and that he was another person entirely. Later Laurel, Felicity and Diggle were called to a meeting by Merlyn who attempted to reveal to them that Oliver was actually undercover and has been working with him. When the three refused to believe him, Malcolm brought out an old friend of Oliver's, Tatsu Yamashiro. Tatsu revealed that Ra's al Ghul intended to unleash a biological weapon on Starling City, the same weapon that killed her son. Malcolm told them that he had arranged for them to be flown to Nanda Parbat. Back at Palmer Industries, Laurel, Diggle, and Felicity overlooked the data and determined that Merlyn may have actually been telling the truth, though Felicity is still reluctant to trust Malcolm. Laurel and Diggle were about to take off with Malcolm when Felicity arrived, having changed her mind, deciding to come with them to stop Ra's al Ghul. When the trio arrived, they were confronted by numerous assassins and a large scale fight ensued. When the virus was about to be launched in a jet, Ray Palmer arrived and destroyed it at the cost of damaging his suit. The group was then surrounded and taken prisoner. While in a cell, Oliver arrived and dropped a sample of the Omega virus in their cell, seemingly killing them.[62]

Eventually the group wakes up with Malcolm revealing that inoculated them from the virus, saving their lives. They are then rescued by The Flash, who frees them and assured them that Oliver still needs them before leaving. Arriving back in Starling City at Palmer Industries Laurel and the group are confronted by Oliver and Nyssa. Before Oliver can say anything Diggle punches him in the face in anger. Ray suggest that they all give Oliver, Felicity, and John a moment. Laurel arrives at the Starling Police Station to tell Lance about the virus. However, when he refuses to believe in it Laurel quickly guesses that he is drinking again despite her father's claims that he can handle it. Laurel tells her father that he can either drink and continue to blame everyone for his problem or help save the city and make both his daughters proud. Laurel and the rest of the team take yo different positions around Starling City. They quickly learn that Ra's is using his own men to carry the virus. Laurel with the help of Nyssa manage to take down and defeat numerous assassins while Oliver kills Ra Al Ghul and Ray disperses the cure saving the city and stopping the virus. Later at Palmer industries Oliver tells everyone he is retiring from being a hero. And tells them that he entrust them to protect the city in his absence.[63]

The Ghosts

Six months after Oliver and Felicity left the city, Laurel and the team began to deal with an army of trained soldiers nicknamed by the media as the "Ghosts". After a number of failed attempts to stop them, Laurel and Thea decide to travel to Ivy Town to persuade Oliver and Felicity to come back to Star City, despite Diggle's objections. After Oliver decides to travel to return to the team permanently as "Green Arrow", Laurel and the rest of the team learns that the leader of the Ghosts is Damien Darhk. Laurel also learns from John the circumstances of John's brother, Andy Diggle's death and that the Ghosts are actually H.I.V.E.; unbeknownst to Laurel her father is being blackmailed by Damien to work for him under the threat of killing her should he refuse.[64]

Laurel and the team take down the Ghosts' attack on a water treatment plant. Later, she advised against talking to her father about their investigation into the attack on Jessica Danforth. During a stakeout, she tries to talk to John about his grim demeanor as of late. John revealed to her about H.I.V.E.'s possible connection to Andy Diggle's murder. She advises him to tell the others due to her bad experience with keeping her sister's murder from her father. Felicity informed the team that their attacker was Lonnie Machin. When Thea lost control of herself during an argument with Oliver and pinned him down, Laurel and John pulled her off Oliver and later questioned him about Thea's condition. Laurel and the team then go after Machin who had captured Jessica's daughter Madison. After Madison was injured in the rescue, Laurel and John rushed her to safety.[65]

Resurrecting Sara

After Thea begins to suffer from the side effects of the Lazarus Pit, Laurel learns the circumstances of Thea's injuries from Ra's al Ghul practically killed her and that Oliver had used the Lazarus Pit to bring her back from the dead. Laurel and Thea later decide to travel to Nanda Parbat in hopes for finding a solution for Thea's bloodlust and hoping for chance to bring Sara back from the dead; she digs up Sara's body to bring her with her with them.[65] Meeting with Malcolm and Nyssa, Laurel demands that Malcolm to bring Sara back with Malcolm unsurprisingly saying no as he states that the pit would not work or if it did Sara would be completely different. Privately meeting with Nyssa, Laurel proclaims her surprise that Nyssa wouldn't want Sara back, Nyssa states that Laurel is doing this out of grief and that bringing Sara back would she would not be the same person that they loved. Ultimately to appease Thea, Malcolm agrees to use the pit on Sara and while intentionally appearing unsuccessful the pit's effects take place and Sara is revived however, in a feral state. Although happy that Sara is back, Laurel is warned by Malcolm to prepare for the worst. She then later learns that Nyssa had destroyed the Pit in retaliation for bringing her lover back in such a horrific state and warns Laurel that although Sara's death was on Malcolm's hands, the consequences of Sara's resurrection are on Laurel's.[66]

Upon returning to Star City, Laurel introduces a newly resurrected Sara to their father, who is visibly shocked and somewhat disturbed. After Laurel is attacked by Sara and having information about the circumstances of Sara's resurrection from Damien, Quentin decides to kill Sara however, he is convinced not to by Laurel.[67] After Sara escapes from her chains and begins to go on a killing spree, Laurel tries to restrain her but escapes once Oliver shows up. Oliver confronts Laurel on her secret visit to Nanda Parbat and for messing with forces that she does not understand. Laurel later comes to check in on Thea after Sara attacks her and sends her to the hospital, this leads her into an argument with Oliver for endangering his sister. However, Laurel calls out Oliver on his hypocrisy by stating that he never seen her as an equal due to withholding secrets and that she wishes that Oliver would care about her family just as she has always loved and cared for his. After capturing Sara at Verdant, Laurel reluctantly decides to put Sara out of her misery until Oliver convinces her of a way to save her. After contacting John Constantine, who explains that Sara requires as restitution - the return of her soul to her body. Laurel and Oliver head to another realm to retrieve Sara, they succeed, and Sara and Quentin are tearfully reunited with Sara. Laurel later meets with Oliver for his mayoral press conference where she thanks him for his help and he apologizes for his earlier comments and says that she was right and that he has not always been the best friend to her but he would like to try again.[68]

Laurel and Quentin were glad to have Sara back. Later at the Arrowcave, Oliver and Felicity briefed her on Ray's survival and imprisonment. Laurel and Team Arrow then stole a quantum manifold from Kord Industries but faced unexpected resistance from upgraded security. Sara started beating a guard senseless until Laurel's voice calmed her down. The team later regrouped and devised their plan to save Ray. She joined Thea and Sara in an assault on the Ghosts but witnessed Sara give into her bloodlust by killing one of the Ghosts. After the team recovered Ray, they left. Sara told Thea and Laurel that she needed to leave. They tried to convince her to stay but she insisted on finding things out for herself and hugged Laurel before she left.[69]

Laurel accompanied the team in fighting off a Ghost attack on a Star City Bank armored truck. However, the Ghosts were successful in destroying the money. Laurel later accompanied the team in breaking into Wolfman Biologics. At the police gala, Laurel talked to Diggle about their shared experience with resurrected siblings and urged him to use this chance as an opportunity to heal. After Ray tracked H.I.V.E. to the Muller Psychiatric Center, the team attacked the asylum, looking for Andy. Laurel and Ray were able to extract Andy.[70]

Assisting Mari McCabe

Not trusting her sister, Kuasa, with the theft the Water Totem to defeat Benatu Eshu's Fire Totem, Mari McCabe contacted Laurel, Felicity, and Ray Palmer to help her on the way to Star City; Mari's suspicions proved correct as Laurel and Ray restrained Kuasa.[71] Laurel heads with Mari to Detroit to stop Eshu who is terrorizing the city to lure out Mari. As Mari, Ray, and Laurel fight Eshu he eventually overpowers each of them as he blocks Laurel's bo-staff and hits her back with it enflame.[72] After Mari eventually defeats Eshu, Laurel and Ray visit her in their civilian disguises before the three are called to Coast City by Cisco Ramon to aid Barry and Oliver. Since then Mari and Laurel have remained on friendly terms with one another.[73]

Father's activities

After Oliver publicly announces Damien's identity and association with H.I.V.E., Laurel learns from an anonymous source that her father has been in contact with Damien. Laurel later confronts her father and he admits to his involvement with Damien after threatening her life as well as becoming Oliver's mole within the organization. After Felicity, Diggle, and Thea are kidnapped by Damien at Oliver's Christmas party; Laurel and Malcolm disguised as "Green Arrow" lead an assault to save Oliver and the rest of the team from Damien.[74] Following Oliver's proposal to Felicity, she is hospitalized and Oliver begins to greater risks in his pursuit of Damien, going so far as to capture the psychotic Lonnie Machin and imprison him causing Laurel to have the police apprehend him to prevent Oliver from torturing him. Oliver later frees Machin from the police so that he can track down and kill Darhk, something that Laurel criticizes him for because Machin could kill innocent people along the way. Laurel also discovers that her father is dating Felicity's mother, Donna Smoak, something that surprises Laurel but is ultimately very supportive of.[2]

Nyssa's Rebellion

After Thea's physical condition begins to worsen due to her refusal to submit to her bloodlust, Nyssa appears to offer up an item called the "Lotus" which can cure Thea on her condition that Oliver kills Malcolm.[75] Laurel is supportive of the idea if it means saving Thea's life due to Malcolm's actions against Tommy and Sara, but agrees with Oliver on finding a diplomatic solution. Laurel appears to Nyssa and sees that she is preparing a rebellion against Merlyn with her own followers of the League, she offers Nyssa leadership of the League in exchange for the Lotus; Nyssa accepts the conditions but knows that Malcolm will not her assumptions are proven correct when Malcolm later backs out of the agreement to steal the cure. Laurel later confronts Nyssa and her forces, telling her she will not allow her to wage a war in her city and later assists on capturing her. Laurel later confronts Nyssa telling her that all her actions up till late were things that her father would have done not her. After Oliver defeats Malcolm in a trial by combat and hands the leadership of the League to Nyssa, she later meets with Laurel, Oliver, and Malcolm were she admits to Laurel that she was right about letting her father to continue to define her actions and reveals that she disbanded the League and destroys the Demon's Head ring with Laurel silently approving her decision.[76]

Capturing and Trialing Damien

After Damien kidnaps a young boy to force Oliver to drop out of his mayoral campaign, Oliver reveals that the boy is his son, William Clayton. William's mother, Samantha, later appears in the Arrow Cave after Oliver reveals his secret identity to her. Samantha is stunned to see Laurel again as she tries to comfort her, Samantha apologizes to her sleeping with Oliver while he and Laurel were still together and laments to Laurel that she should have been honest with her but Laurel corrects her by stating Oliver is the one who should have been honest with her. Laurel later discusses with her father about locating William's location and expresses to her father that despite her and Oliver having been over for a long time she still feels hurt by this revelation. Later, she meets up with Mari McCabe who Laurel affectionately greets, Mari helps the team rescue William and capture Damien.[77]

Laurel later leads the prosecution over Damien's trial, where his attorney Fitzmartin submits paperwork that Damien is legally under the assumed name of "Kenneth Bender", a citizen of Markovia. Laurel decides to call her friends to testify as they were hostages to when Damien kidnapped them during Christmas. However, Fitzmartin destroys Thea and Diggle's credibility by proclaiming that Diggle helped Thea purchase $74,000 worth of cocaine with an affidavit signed by Thea's former drug dealer, from a previous assignment while they were vigilantes. Laurel is later approached by her father who offers to come forward as a witness in order to tie Damien to his crimes at the cost of implicating and possibly ruining his career as a police captain. Laurel reluctantly agrees to her father's proposal and watches as he admits to involvement in gaining information and stealing for Damien; under the threat that he would kill Laurel if he didn't. Ultimately the judge decides to rule in favor of Quentin's testimony and imprisons Damien without bail. Laurel is later told by her father how proud of her he is and witnesses her father turn in his badge while he is under investigation by internal affairs.[78]

Assault of Palmer Technologies

Following Oliver's break up with Felicity, he begins to train the team harder than usual and Laurel confronts him about it by telling him that she is here for him if he ever needs it. Later, Brie Larvan launches an attack on Palmer Technologies trapping Thea, Felicity, and Donna. Laurel and the team launches an assault on the building to rescue them but Oliver is injured during the attack and has one of Larvan's robotic bees slowing multiplying inside him until it eventually kills him. Using an idea from Curtis Holt, Laurel uses the Canary Cry to cancel out the frequency that Larvan is using to control her bees and save Oliver's life. While Oliver begins to harshly criticize Curtis for his positive attitude towards vigilantism, Laurel calls him out for his attitude as Oliver tries to explain that his life as a vigilante is what ruined his relationship with Felicity and took him away from the happy life he had with her and that it isn't fair that he save his city not his relationship. Laurel corrects him by saying that Felicity left him not because of being Green Arrow but of the lies he told as himself, she also reminds him that life isn't fair but he can save the city as he is a beacon of hope to people but she wishes that he would save some hope for himself; Oliver later apologizes to Curtis and decides to take her advice.[79]

Death

After Ruvé Adams' mayoral inauguration, she approaches Laurel with the offer to become the District attorney after the previous DA joins her campaign office. Laurel is tempted with the offer as being DA is what she originally wanted before becoming the Black Canary in addition to being able to infiltrate Adams's inner circle but her father tells her the being DA means that she may not be able to be Black Canary anymore. After Malcolm manages to recapture Damien's Khushu Idol and a failed attempt to recapture it, Oliver admits to Laurel that Andy is somehow involved but is warned by Laurel to be careful when getting involved with the siblings. Laurel conducts a prison search in Damien's cell in order to locate the idol but she is unsuccessful. As Oliver and Laurel begin discussing how the team is falling apart, Oliver brings up that being DA might be a good change for her. Laurel initially rebuffs the idea as it means that won't be Black Canary anymore, but Oliver points out that she became Black Canary to her grief and anger after Sara's death and that now that Sara's back she does not really need to be a vigilante anymore and that she could more good for the city as a hero in the light by being a District attorney.[3]

After Damien stages a prison riot to escape, the team goes to confront him with Laurel's intent being her last mission as Black Canary. As the team confront Darhk, Andy betrays them by revealing his allegiance to Damien who immediately reveals that he knows the team's identities and regains his mystical powers from the idol. While using his powers to restrain the team, Darhk still enraged over Quentin's testimony against him takes one of Oliver's arrows and stabs Laurel with it, Oliver then takes Laurel to the prison emergency ward where he is kicked out by the surgeon while she begins operating on Laurel.[3]

Laurel passing away at 11:59 pm.

Laurel initially comes out the surgery and appears to make a full recovery, surrounded by the team she tells them that tonight was supposed to be her last mission as Black Canary but she tells them that she could never give it up as it makes her feel alive and because she loves the team so much. While she and Oliver begin to speak privately she reveals that she kept the photo of herself that she gave Oliver before he got stranded on Lian Yu, admitting that she kept it because it reminded her of a simpler time between them. Realizing anything could happen, Laurel admits that she is glad that Oliver found Felicity and hopes that he find his way back to her but tells Oliver that she knows that she is not the love of his life but that he will always be the love of hers. As Laurel asks him to promise her something, she makes him promise not to make her the last Canary and give the identity to someone else, that way there will still be a part of her fighting beside him.[80] She begins to start seizing as the doctors try to resuscitate her before Laurel passes away at 11:59pm April 8 2016, leaving Oliver, the team, and her father devastated.[3]

Original timeline

According to Rip Hunter in the original unaltered timeline, a timeline that Sara wasn't recruited into the Legends, Damien Darhk killed not only Laurel but also Sara and Quentin as well.

Dominator reality

In the alternate reality created by the Dominators, Laurel is still alive and has a good and full relationship with her sister Sara. Oliver never cheated on her with Samantha Clayton or Sara, or got lost on Lian Yu, and they are now getting ready to be married. Before their wedding, she met with Sara who had come for the wedding and showed her the necklace Oliver gave her. When Sara saw it was a bird, Laurel told her it was a canary which seemed to trigger a reaction from Sara. At the Queen Mansion, the two of them then bumped into Ray which seemed to cause more of a stirring in her sister. When Oliver and the others had figured out that the reality was a fake, they tried to break free which this world's Laurel could sense. She tried to have both Oliver and Sara stay with her but the both of them knew they couldn't and both bid her an emotional goodbye.[81]

Rewritten reality

In Legion of Doom's alternate reality, Darhk killed Laurel yet again along with many other heroes.

In an alternate reality created by Eobard Thawne using the Spear of Destiny, Laurel was still Black Canary but was killed by Darhk, now mayor of Star City, yet again alongside Oliver, Barry, Diggle, Rory Regan/Ragman, Rene Ramirez/Wild Dog, Vigilante, Evelyn Sharp/Artemis and a vigilante Felicity. All of their masks were put on display in his office. When Sara, brainwashed into being Damien's assassin, tried to fool him by pretending to still be so Damien was suspicious and tested her by taunting her about Laurel's death. Damien told Sara that Laurel was his favorite kill and was aware that he killed her in the previous timeline and as planned, this made Sara angry enough to blow her cover.[82]

Seeing Sara for the last time

Laurel appears to Sara after using the Spear of Destiny, assuring that she'll always be with her sister.

When Sara uses the Spear of Destiny, Laurel appears as a manifestation of a desire, or possibly as a spirit given the Spear of Destiny's mystic nature. Sara realizes that she could use the Spear's power to bring Laurel back but knows that she can't. Laurel tells her that the spear doesn't need someone pure of heart to use it, but someone who is willing to do the right thing. Laurel tells Sara that she loves her and she won't ever be too far from her as Sara tearfully hugs her and tells her she loves her, as Sara returns to reality.[83]

Legacy

Following her death, Laurel is listed as one of the causalities during the prison riot and her identity as Black Canary is protected by her doctors. However, a teenager named Evelyn Sharp who admired Laurel as Black Canary and seeking revenge against H.I.V.E. for killing her parents; fashions her own outfit and steals the Canary Cry device from Laurel's belongings. Her actions end up labeling the Black Canary as a criminal. During Laurel's funeral, attended by her parents, Oliver, John, Thea, Felicity and Nyssa. Evelyn also discreetly visits from a distance. Oliver gives her a eulogy and reveals to the public that Laurel was the Black Canary and that she was not a criminal but a hero in every way that a person can be in preserve her reputation and all the good that Laurel had done with her life; her identity as Black Canary is left on her tombstone. After the funeral Oliver stands over her tombstone for hours during which Barry arrives to pay his respects, though regretfully missed the funeral itself because of an encounter with Zoom. Oliver tells Barry that he doesn't believe Laurel's death is his fault but his responsibility and promises to Barry, and later Felicity, that he will kill Darhk.[1]

Vengeance and Justice for Laurel

Sara started a crusade to kill Darhk to prevent Laurel's murder in 2016.

After her death, both Quentin and Sara attempted to undo Laurel's death; as both were initially unable to accept the fact that Laurel was gone and she was never coming back. Quentin made contact with Nyssa asking her to use the Lazarus Pit on Laurel the same way Laurel used it on Sara, however, Nyssa reveal that she destroyed the Pit leaving Nyssa to tell him she would bring her back if she could. Later Oliver is forced to make Quentin accept his daughter's death by assuring him that if there was a way to bring Laurel back Oliver would do it.[1] Sara who arrived five months after leaving with Rip Hunter's team, discovered Laurel's death and threaten Rip Hunter to take her back to advert it, but he refused. Also, Rip reveals that she would not be able to change it even with the team's help.[84] Despite this Sara secretly began her own crusade to kill Damien Darhk in the past before he could kill Laurel and attempted to kill him in 1942[85] and 1987. However Martin Stein convinced her to drop her crusade after convincing her that killing Darhk before his actual death would have countless unforeseeable side-effects on history.[86]

The statue of the Black Canary

Laurel's death was ultimately avenged by Oliver when he killed Damien in a similar manner that he killed Laurel previously, and when Damien Darhk is killed once and for all during the war between the Legends and Mallus. Oliver later laments his actions over Laurel's grave citing that she would not have approved of what he did but then again she was always better than him and that was what he loved most about her.[87] Several months after her death, Oliver commissioned a statue as a reminder of those who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect Star City, and that as long as they remain in their hearts, brighter days lied ahead.[80] Laurel's death also changed Oliver's approach towards justice who resumed killing criminals, believing if he had been doing so from the start then he could have killed Darhk and saved Laurel. However this also caused a rift between him and Thea who refused to be Speedy so long as Oliver was killing.

Black Siren

Both Oliver and Barry had trouble fighting Laurel's counterpart given her exact resemblance.

Laurel's Earth Twocounterpart was brought over by Hunter Zolomon/Zoom as part of his plan to invade Earth One. She learned of Earth One Laurel's death yet Earth Two Laurel felt little remorse. Barry had trouble fighting Earth Two Laurel given that she looked exactly like her late doppelgänger, whose funeral he'd recently been to. Once Earth Two Laurel was captured Caitlin considered telling Sara and Quentin about her but Barry voted against it, not wanting to ruin their memory of Laurel.[88] Around Christmas Laurel's Earth Two counterpart was released by Prometheus and extorted into impersonating her Earth One counterpart to infiltrate Team Arrow, though Felicity discovered her deception and Earth Two Laurel was eventually taken into A.R.G.U.S custody. Oliver believes, partially out of guilt for Laurel's death which Oliver blames himself for, that Earth Two Laurel could find redemption, believing choices are caused by circumstances, but also so he can forgive himself for what happened to Laurel. Encountering Earth Two Laurel also motivated Oliver to keeping his promise to Laurel to find a Black Canary successor, and recruited Dinah Drake. [89]

She escaped custody yet again due to Prometheus and appeared again, this time to Quentin Lance. Seeing her, Quentin initially believed that his daughter had come back to him from death much like Sara had but Thea told him the truth of Black Siren's origin. Though she spoke to Quentin as if she was his genuine daughter, Quentin realized that she was Laurel, just not his Laurel.[90] When Earth Two Laurel fought against Dinah Drake, she angrily spat that Dinah thought she could replace her, speaking as both herself and her Earth One counterpart. She was then knocked out from behind by Quentin as she was tarnishing his daughter's memory.[91]

Earth Two Laurel spends time working for Cayden James after surviving the explosion on Lian Yu where she was reluctantly shot by Quentin when attempting to kill Dinah. She mocks Quentin when he tries to stop her from escaping during an encounter, saying she would have shot him on Lian Yu were she in his position. Later on, she kidnaps Quentin and is still angry with him about being shot on Lian Yu, though he begins to talk about her father, which leads to her revealing he’s been dead since she was 13 and that he and Quentin shared the same ritual going out to retrieve a birthday cake for their respective Laurels. She becomes genuinely sentimental, and after Cayden orders her to kill him, she instead frees him, telling him to run. Despite all this, she continues her criminal activites and committing immoral acts, such as reluctantly killing Vincent Sobel on Cayden’s orders, after it’s revealed he’s a mole in Cayden’s cabal, which leads to both Oliver to seemingly give up on trying to redeem her as she continuously tarnished the woman he loved’s memory, as well as Dinah becoming committed to killing her to avenge Vince.

After Cayden’s death shes abducted by Quentin in a successful attempt to bring some of the good in her to light by reminiscing with her about his Laurel in private and how this Laurel finally has the opportunity to choose what she wants to be. She is confronted by New Team Arrow, who are seeking to get back money she stole for Cayden, though Dinah attempts to kill her to avenge Vince. Oliver and the original Team Arrow rush to her aid, though mainly to stop Dinah from attempting to kill, as Oliver angrily states he never wants to see her again after this. Escaping from Dinah, she eventually reveals herself to the public (pretending to be her late Earth One counterpart) in order to protect herself from the person (Ricardo Diaz) who killed Cayden James; as she is fully aware that her late doppelgänger was an important public figure, which will make it difficult for anyone to kill her, stating to the press that her death was fake by H.I.V.E., and that she had been tortured by the organization for the last two years; as the public now believes that Earth One Laurel is alive. Laurel, initially acted as a mole within Team Arrow, gaining their trust by acting good around Quentin and helping them with intel that they use to rescue Roy Harper from Diaz. Oliver thanks her and agrees to give her space to try and be good, seeing it as fair. Meanwhile, however, she continued to assist Diaz with his criminal activities while becoming romantically involved with him and feigning being good, though her brief romance with him ends after seeing him burn his childhood bully alive despite her pleas not to and she begins avoiding him.

She eventually revealed her alliance with Diaz to Quentin, though throughout her time on Earth One, she had grown genuinely fond of Quentin, as he had become a surrogate father to her and the two began to act towards each other as actual father and daughter. Quentin, though furious at first, learns from her that her alignment with Diaz was out of fear after watching him burn a man alive over a childhood grudge, and as she states to him and that she was trying to protect both herself and Quentin. Feeling it hypocritical to blame her as he assisted Damien Darhk to protect Earth One Laurel, he apologizes for lashing out at her and he and Earth Two Laurel then promise to protect each other. Later Oliver figures out about her alliance with Diaz when he sees her with him after being abducted and brought to Diaz. After avoiding Diaz for weeks, he realizes she’s having doubts about him and doesn’t wish to expose Oliver as the Green Arrow in his trial so he threatens to kill her if she doesn’t.

During his trial, Christopher Chance breaks into the courtroom disguised as both Tommy Merlyn and the Green Arrow, claiming to be him. Laurel is brought in to testify as Diaz watches on TV and is asked who is the Green Arrow, Oliver or Tommy. After hesitating to think about her response and looking over at Quentin, she ultimately testifies that Tommy is the Green Arrow, to Oliver’s shock that she had just redeemed herself and saved him and to Diaz’ anger. This leads to Chance (who happened to be disguised as the Judge) to have the reasonable doubt that he needs to acquit Oliver of all charges, despite the rigged verdict from the jury that was paid off by a Diaz. Laurel tells Quentin that he changed her mind about testifying against Oliver, and that the first step to standing up to Diaz is standing up to him, which leads to her attacking Diaz at the docks along with his men and nearly killing him, though she gets cocky and he uses the time to activate his meta-human dampener and capture her, telling her he now plans to kill Oliver and everyone he cares about, much to her horror.

After Oliver made a deal with the FBI to help him liberate the city, Diaz called Quentin threatening him to remove the FBI or else he’d kill Laurel. After meeting, Diaz took Quentin and held him in the same cell as Laurel (who was now wearing a power-dampening collar), telling him that he only promised to give him proof of life before leaving. Diaz later returned as Team Arrow and the FBI were moving in on him, telling Quentin he was gonna shoot Laurel in front of him if he didn’t comply to his terms. Laurel told Quentin not to comply to him and not let Diaz have the city, daring Diaz to shoot her believing he was bluffing. After giving Quentin five seconds, Diaz attempted to shoot her, with Quentin jumping in front of her and taking a bullet to the abdomen. Stunned, Laurel attempted to comfort Quentin, and when Diaz began to mock them, telling her he shot him where he did as a mercy so he wouldn’t bleed out yet so she can get him to call the FBI and tell them to leave the city, Laurel angrily told Diaz she was gonna kill him. As Diaz was about to shoot Laurel in front of Quentin, Oliver and the FBI arrived, forcing Diaz to flee. He came up and found Laurel with an injured Quentin and Dinah told Oliver to go get Diaz, so he shot the lock off the cage where they were held captive and Dinah arrived shortly after as Laurel tended to Quentin. Laurel spotted up to Dinah, believing she was going to attempt to kill her again, only to be stunned when Dinah instead freed her from her collar. The two carried Quentin out of the building to safety, using their canary cry’s to fend off Diaz’ men along the way and Dinah handed Laurel a gun. After getting Quentin to the paramedics, Laurel headed back into the building and went to the rooftop where Oliver had nearly subdued Diaz. Diaz dared Oliver to kill him, as it was the only way to truly defeat him and knew Oliver wouldn’t. Knowing Oliver wouldn’t kill him, Laurel told him that Diaz was right that he’d have to kill him to beat him before blasting Diaz off the roof with her canary cry into a river below in an attempt to kill him herself, frustrating Oliver as he knew Diaz would survive the fall and angrily lashed out at Laurel, who in turn told him that she was trying to end it and she could only hope that the fall killed Diaz.

Oliver and Laurel then headed to the hospital to see Quentin, and while Oliver went in to speak with him, Laurel waited outside the room and called Quentin’s other daughter and her deceased doppelgänger’s sister Sara Lance, who arrived and seemed fairly amazed to see her deceased sister’s face again on her doppelgänger. Laurel thanked her for coming, believing it was only right for Quentin’s daughter to be there. Sara thanked her for calling her, and Laurel asked if it was weird for her to see her, which Sara responded that it was a little. Sara then asked if she was anything like her Laurel, which Laurel replied she hardly was at all, visibly disappointed at herself. Sara and her later walked over to Team Arrow and witnessed the FBI arresting Oliver, to their confusion as he explained his deal to enlist their help from liberating the city from Diaz also involved him turning himself in in exchange for immunity for the rest of Team Arrow. The doctor approached them, and when Oliver asked how Quentin was, she told them he had seized during surgery and died as his brain was deprived of oxygen for seven minutes, leaving Laurel, Oliver, Sara, Dinah, and the rest of Team Arrow devastated as the FBI took Oliver away, who told all of them to take care of each other. As a grieving Sara hugged Felicity, Laurel turned away visibly teary-eyed and heartbroken by both Quentin’s death and Oliver being taken away. Later as Oliver (under the direction of the FBI) revealed his identity as the Green Arrow to the rest of the world and called on his friends and allies to keep fighting to save the city, Sara and Laurel cried and mourned together as they stood over Quentin’s body.

Potential futures

In the year 2046 Sara, just weeks after departing 2016 and having yet to learn of Laurel's death, learned from a 61 year old Oliver living in a ruined Star City following Grant Wilson's uprising that Laurel, along with Quentin and Diggle were all dead. However Oliver neglected to mention that Laurel died in 2016 whereas Quentin and Diggle died around 2031, presumably so Sara wouldn't try and change Laurel's fate. While Rip claims this future is only a potential timeline the very presence of Connor Hawke, whose existence is a side-effect the Flashpoint timeline created by Barry, occurring after Laurel's death, indicates this timeline is actually the true future of Star City where Laurel's death in 2016 still remains intact.

By the year 2166 Vandal Savage became aware of Laurel's death while researching into Sara's life after deducing her origin time. After Savage was imprisoned on the Waverider he taunted Sara asking "You spoken to your sister Laurel lately?", most likely deducing Sara was from a point in time where she had yet to learn of Laurel's death.[92]

In a potential future which Eobard Thawne comes from, Black Canary is one of the several heroes remember in the "Age of Heroes", however, whether this is refers to Laurel or Dinah is unknown.[93]

Personality

Laurel was idealistic, intelligent, hard-working, and fights hard to get what she wants. She was a competent, upstanding lawyer and works to stand up for the innocent and what was right, despite the corruption in Starling City. She can be stubborn, feisty, and independent and doesn't like to be told what to do. Laurel was attracted to troublemakers, as shown when she dated both Oliver and Tommy. She gets annoyed when her father tries to get in the way, always forming his opinion of her boyfriends, even though it almost never changes her mind. Laurel was tough and knows how to take care of herself. She takes risks, like contacting the vigilante and can't resist saving people from tough situations, from when Tommy and Oliver were going to get beat up in the night club Poison, to innocent people on trial.

However, Laurel shows she had a big heart, being open-minded and inquisitive, having a tendency to see the best in the people around her. While her anger towards Oliver for supposedly getting Sara killed and cheating on her with Sara made her harsh towards him, at first, a situation exacerbated by the fact that there was still a spark between them. She humored Oliver when he admitted that she should hate him for what he did to her and her sister, but she eventually came around to forgiving him, realizing Sara was also as much to blame. She even wants to get along with her father again, after he used her as bait for the Hood. She was also one of the few people seeing the good person Oliver was inside, even through the snob-front he presents on the outside. When first meeting the Hood, she was disturbed by his methods, she could eventually realize he was, in his own way, trying to help Starling City.

Due to the events of the Undertaking as well as her kidnapping and emotional dilemmas, her personality takes a harsh fall. She also didn't want to face her own guilt, for being partly responsible for Tommy's death, so she tried to blame the Arrow for something that wasn't his fault, until she was captured and almost killed by Barton Mathis. She starts using drugs and alcohol, like her father, to cope with her pain; eventually she loses the respect of her father and Oliver, even losing her job as an ADA. She is reluctant to admit that she has a problem, and spirals deeper and deeper into her addiction.

When Sara returned alive and well, though she was shocked at first, Laurel viciously rejected her. Laurel kept on trying to blame people in general for ruining her life, this behavior of hers continued, until Oliver coldly criticized and corrected her on her actions, and being pressured by her father she began to go to AA meeting groups and tearfully reconciled with her sister welcoming her back. Laurel began displaying her former personality, showing some bravery and stubbornness as she refused to leave without her colleagues who were being taken hostage by Helena. She managed to convince the Canary to help her free the hostages.

Although she eventually seeks help for her addiction and reconciles with her friends and family, it seems that her experiences have left their mark and brought out a darker, harder, manipulative side of her character, as demonstrated when she blackmails DA Kate Spencer into giving her her old job back, and to have her father released from conviction when he was arrested for aiding the Arrow. Later on after discovering Oliver and Sara were the respective vigilantes Arrow and the Canary Laurel not only accepted these facts she confronted them on her own terms; she comforted and inspired them to carry on their crusades during their crisis of faith when Oliver was depressed following Moira Queen's death, and Sara's self-depreciation believing she wasn't a hero due to her time with the League of Assassins while participating in the fight against Slade Wilson's siege of Starling City.

Laurel as Black Canary.

After Sara was killed, dying right in front of her, Laurel was struck with grief, shock and forced herself not to tell it to her father (out of fear it would cause him a heart attack). She became angrier, reckless, and was fueled with a desire for revenge; she sought to help people like her sister did as she tried to assault a man that abused his girlfriend to honor her sister's memory. Determined not to fall into addiction again, she needed "another way" and asked Oliver to train her in combat. When Oliver refused, she turned to boxing as an outlet, then learning of Ted Grant's vigilante past she became his apprentice, asking him to train her. To deal with her pain, and with Oliver's supposed death being the catalyst, she decided to take up her sister's mask, begin to actively fight crime out on the streets and act as The Black Canary. Despite a lot of objections and being unsuccessful at first she kept doing it and slowly became better.

After Laurel was injected by one of Werner Zytle's Vertigo-filled throwing darts, which caused her to see a hallucination of Sara and was almost killed by the latter, she finally realized that Oliver was right (that she was using vigilantism and adrenaline to avoid facing the fact that Sara was dead and she was never coming back); Laurel finally came clean to her father about her sister's death which cost her her relationship with him, though they admit they'll always love one another. Even after she learned Malcolm Merlyn was her sister's killer, and even attempted to take him down which ends very badly for as she is no match for Malcolm, she ultimately took Ted's advice not to train to defeat Sara's killer, but to train for herself, as well as Felicity's advice not to follow in Sara's footsteps but "to be herself". After striking up an unlikely friendship with Nyssa al Ghul who shared stories of Sara with her, and offered her further training, Laurel started to regain her sense of self-discipline and control. She ultimately became a proficient fighter in her own right effectively becoming an official member of Team Arrow, even impressing and being accepted by Oliver.

In the final moments of her life Laurel confessed to Oliver that despite all their complications and history together she truly did still love him and told him he was and always will be the love of her life.

Abilities

Peak human physical condition: After months of training with Ted, Laurel was in top physical condition with fast reflexes and was strong enough to lift a grown man on top of a desk. She later received additional training from Nyssa who taught her the ways of the League of Assassins.[64]

Acrobatics/Free-running: Since becoming Black Canary, Laurel had developed free-running skills and could drop from a height of several feet without injuring herself. She was also able to perform a backflip without using her hands during her fight against Eshu.

Honed senses: Laurel has sharp hearing and sight, as well as keen skills of perception. She is able to pick up and incoming danger and react extremely quickly.

High-level intellect/Master lawyer: Laurel was a respected and highly attorney, graduating law school with an offer to work at successful law firm in San Francisco and later offered the position of District attorney. Her ability to use the legal system to her advantage allowed her to help others and herself both inside and outside the court while looking at every aspect before making up her mind.

Expert investigator: Laurel's experiences as a lawyer make her a capable investigator and she has exceptional instincts, as she was correct on her assumptions on Sebastian Blood's corruption. As after learning from Slade Wilson that Oliver is the Arrow she was able to gather the evidence to prove his claims and as a result figure out her sister's identity as the Canary.

Expert interrogator/Torturer: As an ADA, Laurel was skilled in interrogating suspects this was demonstrated when she threatened to send one of Brick's men to Belle Reve where he can be killed if he did not aid her. Laurel was also capable of torture, such as when she pressed further on Kelso's injury when she was looking for information on Simon Lacroix. However, it should be noted that she did this under extreme emotional distress after Sara's death and does not believe in torture.

Expert driver: Laurel had the ability to drive multiple vehicles and is skilled at it, she is able to pursue enemies in various ways using different vehicles using either a car or a motorcycle.

Expert combatant/Martial artist: Originally Laurel was a capable hand-to-hand combatant, this was due to Quentin making her take self-defense classes. Once Laurel decided to become a vigilante, she began further training in Boxing and advanced combat training under Ted Grant. Her training allowed her to match street thugs such as the Red Scarfs, however, she still gets injured from time to time. Nyssa al Ghul stated that her fighting style was competent but could be improved and offered her training in the ways of the League of Assassins. Over time, Laurel's fighting skills improved enough for her to hold her own against multiple fighters whether they were street thugs or members of the League. After five months, Laurel was now more than capable of defeating multiple enemies of advanced training such as H.I.V.E. soldiers or League members with only minor occasional assistance. Laurel's fighting style seems to be a mixture of boxing, judo, and techniques from the League of Assassins.

Expert stick fighter: Throughout her career as a vigilante Laurel had used several weapons such as a stick, her sister's batons, and finally her choice weapon of a tactical tonfa. Laurel's skill with her tonfa had been improved through trial and error, with her later ultimately becoming able to hold her own and later defeat members of the League of Assassins. During confrontations against H.I.V.E. soldiers, Laurel had been shown to occasionally wield two tonfas in combat occasionally. While helping Mari against Eshu, Laurel used a metal bo-staff instead of her tonfa, yet she showed impressive skill while using the weapon during battle.[71][72][73]

Skilled markswoman: Laurel's father taught her how to use a gun and she legally owns several firearms. She used a shotgun on Mr. Blank to slow him down long enough for Oliver to rescue her and Tommy, she was also able to kill officer Daily in order to save Oliver's life as the Arrow.

Skilled archer: While being trapped under rubble, Laurel was able to wield Oliver's bow and accurately shoot an explosive arrow and break out of the debris.

Indomitable will: Laurel was a determined and highly driven woman, unlike her father she was able to overcome her alcoholism and stay sober without any relapses. Laurel was also able to mentally overcome Werner Zytle's fear-inducing Vertigo in order to apprehend him.[94]

Network: Being the Assistant District attorney and the daughter of a police captain, she had her own connections with the District attorney's office and the SCPD. Laurel also had contact with Cisco Ramon, who provides her tech such as her new sonic device or her sister's White Canary suit.

Equipment

Pistol: Laurel was very proficient in using guns. She kept one holstered on her left leg though rarely uses it, in only of times of emergencies

Black Canary suit: Laurel wore a black leather suit while fighting crime as Black Canary. The suit was a modified version of the one used by her late sister. She also wore a black mask and used to wear the blonde wig prior to abandoning it to hide her identity from her enemies.

Tactical tonfas: Laurel later used a Tactical Tonfa or side-handle baton, like the one used by police officers. She is able to wield this weapon proficiently while fighting enemies including League of Assassins members. After, five months, she has adopted a second tonfa when facing Hive, to help her deal with multiple skilled opponents.

Bo-staff: During her Vixen appearances, Laurel was struggling with a Bo-staff, which she wore proficiously while fighting Kuasa and Bentatu Exhu.

Canary Cry: An updated version of the sonic device that both Sara and Laurel used. This device was made by Cisco Ramon as a favor to Laurel.

Former equipment

Expandable batons: After taking her role as Black Canary, Laurel took Sara's bo-staff to fight crime. The staff consists of a pair of expandable batons to fight. They are able to combine into a bo-staff. Laurel later abandoned this weapon in favor of a Tactical Tonfa; mainly because she was very clumsy at utilizing a bo-staff.

Sonic device: Laurel used the sonic device of her sister to stun two criminals and break their car windows. Laurel later abandoned this device when she asked Cisco to make her a modified version the sonic device.

Promotional images

Arrow

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Trivia

Despite being killed in Season 4 of Arrow, Laurel has made several appearances in the following seasons.

In a currently erased timeline Laurel, along with everyone in Central City, was killed by Vandal Savage using the Staff of Horus in his efforts to kill Carter Hall and Kendra Saunders. However, due to Barry Allen changing the time continuum this disaster never occurs. Laurel seemed to still vaguely remember this event in the current timeline after Savage's death, remarking that she was having the "strangest déjà vu".

Being the daughter of a police detective, she learned how police badges were serialized.[22]

Like on the show, Dinah Laurel Lance is Black Canary in the original comic. She possesses the meta-human ability of a super sonic scream, which she can deploy to shatter objects and incapacitate her opponent. This ability is called the "Canary Cry". This has not never happened though Sara and later Laurel produced a mechanical version of it. However her Earth Two counterpart does indeed have this ability.

In "Damaged", when Oliver and Laurel go alone to talk, Laurel mentions to Oliver that she wore fishnets to a Halloween party they attended together in 2005. This is a reference to Laurel's DC comic book alter-ego's costume, Black Canary. Ironically her Earth Two counterpart does in fact wear fishnets on her suit.

Laurel is mentioned to be a bad cook, with the only thing she is actually capable of making is macaroni and cheese. This is a trait that her comic counterpart also shares.

Her sister, Sara, owned a pet canary when they were children, which references her DC comic book alter-ego's costume, Black Canary.

In the flashback of "Heir to the Demon", Sara referred to her as Mrs. Laurel Queen, likely a reference to her comic book character's marriage to Oliver Queen.

It is stated by Laurel just before her death in “Eleven-Fifty-Nine” that Oliver will always be the love of her life. Though believed by Laurel that Felicity was the “love of (Oliver’s) life” and not her (which Oliver doesn’t deny nor confirm), it is heavily implied by the events of “Eleven-Fifty-Nine”, “Canary Cry”, and “Invasion!”, as well as his softer approach than everyone else (except Quentin Lance) on dealing with Black Siren and his rougher approach later before her redemption around the end of Arrow Season 6 when he believed she was tarnishing his Laurel’s memory that he has still been in love with Laurel the entire time between the second time they broke up in Season 2’s “City of Heroes” and her death in Season 4’s “Eleven-Fifty-Nine”, though he stayed away from her partially because he felt he didn’t deserve her as well as being unaware that she was still in love with him the entire time during that period. Coupled with him telling Laurel in Season 2 that he’s loved her half his life, along with several flashbacks throughout the first 5 seasons of his 5 years away, their relationship predating the events of the series, his well-known feelings for her throughout the time he was away and throughout Season 1 and their romantic reconciliation between Season 1’s “Darkness on the Edge of Town” and Season 2’s “City of Heroes”, it can be determined that Laurel is in fact the love of Oliver’s life. It is also directly stated by John Diggle’s actor David Ramsey that Oliver’s biggest regret is cheating on Laurel.

Laurel accurately deduced that Barry Allen was The Flash after learning The Arrow was sighted in Central City, and seeing Oliver and Barry work on a case together just days later back in Starling City.

Laurel's time of death was 11:59 PM.

Laurel has been killed in four separate timelines, mostly by Damien Darhk.

First was in an erased timeline in "Legends of Yesterday" when Laurel, along with the other members of Team Arrow and Team Flash, were killed by Vandal Savage. Due to Barry changing the timeline Laurel was spared from this fate.

Second was an erased timeline mentioned by Rip Hunter in "Legendary" where Laurel, Sara and Quentin were all killed by Damien Darhk. Due to Rip recruiting Sara however she and Quentin were spared from their fates though Laurel was not.

Third was in the current timeline, both Pre-Flashpoint and Post-Flashpoint, in "Eleven-Fifty-Nine" where Laurel was murdered by Damien Darhk. This is Laurel's final and ultimate fate.

Fourth was in the Legion of Doom's rewritten reality in "Doomworld" where she along with many members of Team Arrow and Team Flash were murdered by the Damien Darhk of 1987. However the Legends have since restored this timeline to it's original state but Laurel's original death remains the same.

Caitlin mentioned that Team Flash was very fond of Laurel telling Harry, "We didn't just know her, we loved her". Cisco's idolization of her was also a clear indication of this and Barry traveling to Star City for her funeral.

Interestingly enough, Laurel saved the lives of every past/present member of Team Arrow up until her death, which is something that not even Oliver has done. She saved her father from the Ghosts, used her Canary Cry to save Oliver from Bug-Eyed Bandit, resurrected her sister Sara, helped rescue Ray Palmer from Damien Darhk, stopped Sara from killing Helena, knocked out one of Brick's men who was about to kill Roy Harper from behind, and rescued John, Thea and Felicity from Damien Darhk's gas chamber.

While she is only referred to by her middle name Laurel, her full name as Dinah Laurel Lance is mentioned when people quote "Dinah Laurel Lance, always trying to save the world."

As of "Life Sentence", Laurel and Oliver are the only two heroes on Earth One to have their identities known publically (though with Earth Two’s Laurel Lance/Black Siren permanently rescinding on Earth One and publically pretending to be Earth One Laurel, the public believes she in fact is the Black Canary).

Laurel’s death had greater affects on more characters in the Arrowverse than any other death. It led to:

Damien Darhk being killed by Oliver out of revenge, as well as nearly being killed by Sara several times in the past in an attempt to prevent Laurel’s death as well as mocking Sara repeatedly about it.

Oliver reaffirming his love for her at both her funeral and later in the Dominator reality, revealing her identity to the public at her funeral to avoid her image being tarnished by Evelyn Sharp, briefly returning to killing most of his enemies including Darhk believing had he killed him earlier he would’ve prevented Laurel’s death (which inadvertently led to him accidentally killing the innocent Billy Malone when he was set up by Adrian Chase), seeking redemption for her villainous Earth Two counterpart Black Siren (which was eventually achieved by Quentin) whom in turn was freed from incarceration by Adrian to torment Oliver, and him following through on Laurel’s dying wish to find a new Black Canary by eventually choosing Dinah Drake to take on the mantle, as well as a vertigo hallucination of Laurel briefly haunting him about the circumstances that led to her death.

Thea retiring from vigilantism as she believed Laurel wouldn’t want her to cross the kind of lines she began to cross such as threatening the life of young Nora Darhk.

Diggle nearly killing Ruve Darhk and partially led to him killing his brother Andy Diggle, which in turn led him to briefly allowing himself to stay in prison out of guilt.

Felicity returning to Team Arrow and developing heavy skepticism in the idea of good things happening to them, and losing her boyfriend Billy Malone when he was accidentally killed by Oliver (who in turn believed he was Prometheus and had begun killing again as a result of Laurel’s death).

Sara threatening to kill Rip Hunter in an effort to be taken back in time to save her and attempting to alter the timeline several times by killing a younger Damien Darhk at different points in the past to prevent her sister’s death, initially heavily criticizing Barry over creating Flashpoint, and then nearly altering reality with the Spear of Destiny.

Quentin to slide back into alcoholism, knocking out and later shooting Black Siren partially out of payback for tarnishing his Laurel’s memory and also to save Dinah before falling into a stage of grief for 6 months believing he’d killed his daughter, only to discover she’s alive and began attempting to redeem her while create a life for her away from villainy, ultimately succeeding and adopting her as a surrogate daughter before taking a bullet from Ricardo Diaz for her that ultimately killed him, much to her grief.

Evelyn Sharp briefly taking on the mantle of Black Canary as she was her idol and nearly discrediting it which led to Oliver having to reveal Laurel’s identity as Black Canary to the public to avoid it being tarnished.

Dinah Drake being recruited by Oliver and accepted by Quentin in taking on the mantle of Black Canary, which in turn led to her developing a rivalry with Black Siren after she’d reluctantly killed Dinah’s ex-boyfriend Vincent Sobel/Vigilante.

Adrian Chase/Prometheus being appointed Star City’s new District Attourney, freeing Black Siren from incarceration twice to aid in tormenting Oliver while reminding him of how being around him got her killed, then later Oliver’s vertigo-enduced hallucination of him using the the circumstances of Earth One Laurel’s death to haunt him.

Earth Two Laurel/Black Siren discovering her counterpart’s death and mocking her about it to Barry Allen, Felicity Smoak, and Quentin Lance, being recruited by Hunter Zolomon partially to torment Barry and Adrian Chase to torment Oliver, before being knocked out and shot by Quentin partially over tarnishing his Laurel’s memory as well as attempting to kill Dinah for “replacing her”, adopting her Earth One counterpart’s identity publically to protect herself from both Ricardo Diaz and Dinah, and ultimately becoming genuinely sentimental over her counterpart’s death and seeing the light in herself she believed she had lost years ago and redeeming herself with Quentin’s help (mostly because of the father-daughter relationship they’d eventually developed), before accepting him as a surrogate father after plenty of heart-to-heart talks with him and later witnessing him sacrificing himself to save her.

Vandal Savage learning of and briefly mocking Sara over Laurel’s death (though Sara remained unaware of it at the time).